Tactics Ogre — Why One of Japan’s Most Influential Games is a Polarizing Subject for Western Fans

Ask a Western Strategy Role-Playing Game (SRPG) fan what their favorite game in the genre is and chances are, they’ll answer Final Fantasy Tactics. In a 2021 Japanese poll of favorite games, Tactics Ogre placed 31st overall (the second highest SRPG in the list, with Fire Emblem: Three Houses ranking higher) while Final Fantasy Tactics did not make it on to the list. This isn’t a one-off as you will find similar rankings in previous years; Famitsu’s Top 100 Games of All Time back in 2017 and 2006 yields similar results.

On one hand, this discrepancy between Western and Japanese fans can best be explained by the games that actually made it to consoles back in the 1990s. Whereas Japan was exposed to a variety of SRPG ranging from Fire Emblem to Super Robot Wars to Langrisser, your typical Western fan would probably have been first exposed to the genre via Final Fantasy Tactics when it was released on the Sony PlayStation. There is a similar phenomenon with Advance Wars, which is cited as one of the most iconic console strategy games for the Game Boy Advance, even if its Japanese lineage dates back to the Famicom (where its predecessor was aptly named Famicom Wars).

But that explanation is simply one facet. When Tactics Ogre: Reborn was released in 2022, it was highly praised by critics, but Steam reviews were a mixed bag — some even citing the previous PlayStation Portable (PSP) port, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (or Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune in Japan) — as the better version of the game.

To understand this criticism, we need a basic understanding of the three (four) different versions of Tactics Ogre.

• There is the original Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together released for the Super Famicom back in 1995. It pioneered using an isometric view and elevation in combat (as opposed to the top-down perspective) and being able to heavily customize your party (most enemy units in the game can be recruited). This would eventually be ported to the Sega Saturn (1996) and PlayStation (1997), with the latter receiving an English translation (1998).
• The first remake, Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune (I am using the Japanese naming convention in this instance, as the Western release used the subtitle Let Us Cling Together, which can be confusing in this context), was released for the PSP in 2010. Storywise, additional content and a new translation was added. Mechanics-wise, the game was completely overhauled, and one could even argue that it was made more similar to Final Fantasy Tactics. If you talk to fans of this version, they will, however, most likely refer you to the One Vision mod, which comprehensively re-balanced the game and made a lot of changes to the original.
• Tactics Ogre: Reborn, which was released in 2022, and was made available in a variety of platforms (including Steam, the Nintendo Switch, and both PlayStation 4 and 5). While it retained the story/translation of Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune and quality of life changes, the mechanics were again revamped and in some ways, reverted to the concepts more emphasized in the original Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together while adding new elements like a card power-up system.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn is the game that, during launch, received several polarizing reviews — a stark contrast to Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune which fans typically explain as the game you played if you enjoyed Final Fantasy Tactics since it was made by the same team (Yasumi Matsuno — the game director at Quest where he worked on Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen and its sequel, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together — later moved to Squaresoft where he directed Final Fantasy Tactics, is the abbreviated version of this story).

This reception is due to three factors: distilling the “essence” of Tactics Ogre, the contradiction of SRPGs, and how Western Final Fantasy Tactics fans believe that their game is the best in the genre and anything that deviates is simply “bad”.

Distilling the Essence of Tactics Ogre

A fundamental question is what makes Tactics Ogre a Tactics Ogre. It’s important in the context that over the span of nearly three decades, we have three (four if you count One Vision) different versions, each one with unique mechanics that completely change how the game is played.

An inevitable question from newcomers is which is the “definitive version” and while some might resort to No True Scotsman fallacies in advocating for their favorite version, a more productive explanation would be the nature of Role-Playing Games (RPGs).

The first tabletop RPG was Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and for decades since its release, there are disputes on how best to run such a game. In one extreme, some players treat it as a dungeon crawl with monsters to slay and treasures to loot (essentially what gave way to Rogue, Rogue-like, and Rogue-lite genres of video games); and on the other extreme, some players treat it as a vehicle to act out a drama, with combat and dice rolls being completely optional. To this day, you will find different gaming groups with overlapping and drastic experiences playing D&D and thus this debate is evergreen.

However, in 2002, Robin D. Laws wrote Robin’s Laws of Good Game Mastering, and there, he outlines six player types (that are not mutually exclusive). Some of these player types have the same agenda, while others might have contradictory goals. Below is me paraphrasing the player types outlined in the book:

• The Power Gamer: wants to min-max their character.
• The Butt Kicker: wants to kill stuff.
• The Tactician: wants to make smart decisions.
• The Specialist: wants to play the same character in every game.
• The Method Actor: wants to act.
• The Casual Gamer: wants to hang out with friends.

Depending on the group composition, there will be situations where two different player types are aligned. For example, the Power Gamer and the Butt Kicker might want to engage in combat with the enemy, the former to showcase their character build, the latter simply because it’s fun for them.

However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, there might be situations where two player types are in conflict with each other. The Method Actor playing as a pacifist for example might advocate for a diplomatic way of resolving the situation, while the Butt Kicker might want to immediately resort to violence.

I bring up the topic above mainly because of how it relates to Tactics Ogre. Each version of the game offers something different or caters to a specific type of player. It’s possible that the fan of Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fortune discovers that neither Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and Tactics Ogre: Reborn is not the game for them as the elements they like have been de-emphasized in favor of elements they dislike. And in some cases, why the newer version of the game feel likes a betrayal (and this is a constant cycle with each release), hence the negative review.

So what makes Tactics Ogre Tactics Ogre? That’s really a very subjective question. One person might focus on the story and the branching paths aspect of the game (which is retained across all three versions). Another might emphasize the party-building aspects.

There is no universal Tactics Ogre or SRPG fan, so there will be different views on the subject. What is the definitive version of the game? The version that you personally enjoy.

The Possible Contradiction of SRPGs

The SRPG genre is interesting because it is combining two theoretically opposing genres.

In strategy games for example, the expectation is usually:

• Rewarding smart or intelligent play.
• Adapting your tactics/strategy to oppose your opponent’s tactics/strategy.
• Adapting your party composition/builds to suit the specific encounter.
• Attempting a different tactic/strategy if you encounter failure.

If we were to use emotions, the goal of strategy games is to evoke the emotion of feeling “smart” and that players succeed because of “constraints”.

Contrast this to the expectations from RPGs:

• Character customization is a priority.
• Every possible build is ideally a viable path to completing the game.
• Having the flexibility to use any party composition to win.
• If all else fails, grinding levels in order to overcome difficult encounters.

In terms of emotions, RPGs usually are intended to make you feel “powerful” (either due to your character customization or due to your perseverance in leveling up). “Freedom” is another adjective commonly used, usually in your ability to customize your character/party.

Thus these two genres can possibly create friction between them. If strategy games are supposed to reward smart decision-making, then doesn’t that entail that some builds or strategies aren’t viable? Or if there is an enemy that you cannot defeat, isn’t the solution to change your tactics, as opposed to using the same strategy over and over (e.g. grinding) until it succeeds?

There are players who might feel “powerful” when they outsmart their opponents, or players who feel “smart” by using overpowered characters against weaker enemies, but in general, what is described above is the general contradiction of the two genres.

At a certain point, SRPGs much choose a lane so to speak: do they lean more towards the strategy aspect, or do they lean more towards the RPG aspect?

For example, an SRPG like the Disgaea series heavily lean on the RPG aspect: the goal is to grind so that you reach the maximum left, revert back to level one albeit with higher stars — sometimes called “prestiging” in other games — and then repeating the cycle. The strategic aspect is in optimizing the grind.

Triangle Strategy, on the other hand, focuses more on the strategy aspect. There are soft-caps towards leveling up, character customization is very limited, but there are lots of opportunities for tactical play based on your roster, positioning, and general interaction with the environment.

It could be argued that Tactics Ogre: Reborn leans more on the strategic aspect. There are fixed level caps and there are situations where you cannot overcome the enemy unless you bring the right party composition. This can be a source of frustration among players used to grinding and not experimenting with various builds, highlighting the divide between the expectation of an RPG vs. that of a strategic game.

Strategy vs Tactics

A subsection of the phenomenon above is the concept of strategy vs tactics.

A “good” strategic choice for example can lead to uninteresting tactical battles.

Choosing to send Level 20 characters to fight Level 10 enemies is a good strategic choice. The same goes for sending 10 characters to fight 5 enemies. Victory is mostly assured thanks to the pre-fight planning/grinding you’ve done.

An interesting tactical battle might be one where you’re under-leveled, outnumbered, and/or engaging in disadvantageous terrain. If you manage to survive, it feels rewarding due to the individual choices you made and adapting to the situation.

Final Fantasy Tactics vs Tactics Ogre

The final hurdle is a matter of expectations, and how Final Fantasy Tactics is often used in comparison to Tactics Ogre.

One of the misleading statements that you often see for example is that Tactics Ogre is the spiritual predecessor to Final Fantasy Tactics. They’re made by the “same team”, they both tackle the themes of war and politics, and both feature an isometric perspective in terms of tactics.

However, that kind of logic is quite flawed in this instance. It’s the equivalent of claiming Super Mario Bros. is similar to The Legend of Zelda because they were both developed by Shigeru Miyamoto. The reality is that both games are opposites of each other: Super Mario Bros. is a linear game, while The Legend of Zelda was an open-world, non-linear adventure.

There’s a similar throughline with the relationship between Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics.

Story

Final Fantasy Tactics is, for the most part, narrating a linear story from a single, unified perspective.

Tactics Ogre, on the other hand, is attempting to tell three different stories — with several minor variations inserted. It’s the most ambitious between the two, but this can also be perceived as spreading the story too thin.

For example, you only need to play Final Fantasy Tactics once to grasp the entire story. Tactics Ogre, on the other hand, might require multiple playthroughs to fully grasp the entire picture.

It’s also prone to misinterpretation. The characterization of Vyce, for example, at first glance, might seem inconsistent across all three routes. However, players who pay attention (and witness all his relevant scenes) might later come to an understanding on what motivates the character, and how he changes and develops due to the choices the player makes.

Final Fantasy Tactics presents you with all the “facts” of the story, while in Tactics Ogre, you have to uncover them and puzzle them out. And depending on your choices, it’s even possible to completely miss out on important scenes.

Customization

It’s best to view the focus of Final Fantasy Tactics is character customization. You can mix and match skills from different jobs onto the same character. And because you have a small roster (usually deploying up to 5 units), these characters eventually become quite indispensable and eventually, overpowered if you optimized the character’s “development”.

In Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together and Tactics Ogre: Reborn, the emphasis is more on team building. Characters tend to be more specialized in their singular (sometimes dual) role and you can’t really transfer skills (barring some edge-case scenarios). But because of this, you have a larger roster to play with as you tend to deploy 8 ~ 12 characters per battle.

Instead of making the perfect character, the question here is how to make the perfect team (and it varies from encounter to encounter). Should you include one dragoon in this combat encounter? Maybe two or even three since there are a lot of beasts/dragons? Or maybe include an extra cleric because there’s lots of undead?

The Gameplay Loop

Final Fantasy Tactics is more concerned about “feeling powerful” by the time your character build is complete. While there is an initial difficulty in grinding JP, once the essential skills have been acquired, the game starts feeling like a power fantasy.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn, on the other hand — at least for the first four chapters (this excludes the post-game) — is all about the feeling of overcoming a difficult challenge by either employing a well-prepared strategy (e.g. fielding an army of dragoons to hunt beasts and dragons) or making smart, tactical decisions (e.g. debuffing bosses, charming enemies so they get in the way of enemies, sniping mages and archers, etc.).

There’s also the feeling of “constraint” in Tactics Ogre: Reborn. You only have 4 consumable item slots, 4 spells, and 4 skill slots, so those decisions have a larger impact during battle — at least, if you planned accordingly.

Coming from a Final Fantasy Tactics mindset, the mentality coming into the game might be “problems can be solved by grinding” but Tactics Ogre: Reborn is asking players to do the opposite: “this problem can’t be solved by grinding, but it can be overcome by analyzing the tools we’re dealt with”.

An Unfair Comparison

For the reasons cited above, it could be argued that the areas where Tactics Ogre is strongest are the areas that Final Fantasy Tactics doesn’t cover and vice versa.

So when someone new to the game comes with the expectation that the game plays similar to Final Fantasy Tactics, this is setting them up for failure as the two games are attempting to do excel in two different things. While it’s true they are part of the same genre, SRPGs, it fails to take into account how diverse the games in the genre are.